We were married on March 21st, 1934. All was ready, the beautiful new house for mother and the girls in the village. I had cleaned our house with Tiet’s help — put everything in place. It was a large house, the largest in the row of farms. The windows were very high and it took a lot of work to clean it all. It was all so high and the ladder was heavy.

In the front room were two bedsteads, one large armoire for clothes and a smaller one for the Sunday dinnerware. It was a nice room with fine furniture. The only thing left is the small footstool which belonged to the furniture and had the same upholstery material. I see it in the corner of our room, and it has a plant on it. But I fell over it and now it is broken. It’s already fifty years old. The hallway and the basement I was allowed to clean too, but not the living room. You’ll have to wait with that till I am gone, said mother van der Laan.

The weather was nice on our wedding day and with four autos we went to the municipal building in Sellingen. Mother van der Laan was waiting at the gate. Now she was ready to leave Harm to me. The whole family went along. We had to be there at ten. Around 12 we were home again. There were buns and soup waiting for us, but first we had coffee and a glass of wine with tasty h’ordeuvres. We were now only half married.

At three o’clock we had the wedding service in the church, and it was already full when we arrived. The teachers had sent the children home early. My father was such a well-known figure and Harm likewise. I was only an outsider, because I had been gone for years and wasn’t a village girl anymore. Our minister had married 14 days before and we were the first pair he married. The wedding text was, I lift my eyes unto the hills from whence my help comes. My help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Then we felt truly married. That text has been our help and comfort all our lives. It was a beautiful service, and many wished us well.

In the evening many friends came, and it was a fine evening. We had a live-in farmhand, Hendrik Wubs. We went home on our bikes and Hendrik was waiting for us at the farm’s gate. That was so nice. He said, welcome bride and bridegroom.